Ben:???????????????What about self-defense? Lucy was badly injured. Were there conversations about how Lucy might have had to defend herself?
Joanna:??????????From Savannah? That’s just nonsense. That girl was a little sweet thing. But here’s all I need to know about the situation—one of those girls is dead, and the other one immediately traipsed off to California and claimed to have acquired a convenient case of amnesia. I’m on the side of the one who ended up dead, all right? I’m on her side.
But what about a motive? Why would Lucy suddenly kill her best friend? Why were Lucy and Savannah fighting at the wedding?
Nina seemed to imply that there might have been something happening between Savannah and Matt. Was it jealousy that could have driven Lucy to murder?
I spoke to Kyle Porter about this theory.
Kyle:??????????????Lucy told me she was pretty sure Matt was cheating on her too. I’ve hesitated to say that before, because I thought that maybe she was just justifying our affair to herself. But she told me once that she thought Matt had probably been making his way through the neighborhood.
Ben:???????????????Like, sleeping with women in their neighborhood?
Kyle:??????????????Yeah. I really don’t know if she was just trying to make herself feel better … maybe that was it. But I heard some stuff about Matt’s second marriage ending pretty quickly too, and I started to feel bad about not believing Lucy.
Lucy actually said some stuff about Matt that I’ve been reevaluating lately. Like, one time Matt texted her while we were together and she got this weird look on her face. I asked what was up and she said, “Just my husband telling me what an idiot I am.” And another time she said something like, “Matt prefers I don’t talk when we hang out with friends.” I sort of just brushed those off, thinking she was exaggerating, but I think the guy was kind of a jerk. Savvy actually said something to me once.
Ben:???????????????About Matt?
Kyle:??????????????Yeah. She knew about me and Lucy, and she said, “You can probably get her to leave Matt, if you want. That would be best for her.”
Ben:???????????????Did you? Try to get her to leave Matt?
Kyle:??????????????No. I really wasn’t looking for a relationship, especially not with a twenty-two-year-old or however old she was then. I actually ended things not long after that. Seemed like shit was getting complicated.
Ben:???????????????How did Lucy take it?
Kyle:??????????????She didn’t seem upset at all. I was almost … [laughs] I was almost insulted that she didn’t seem to care. She just shrugged and said, “If that’s what you want.” Lucy never showed much emotion, though. I think that’s why I brushed aside the stuff about Matt. Because she never seemed that upset about it.
Ben:???????????????Did you ever see her or Savannah again?
Kyle:??????????????Never Lucy, but I saw Savvy once, about a month later. She was on the street, talking to Matt.
Ben:???????????????Do you know what they were talking about?
Kyle:??????????????No, but I remember thinking it looked intimate. He had a hand on her arm, and she was standing close to him. And I was like, “Oh, that makes sense. Savvy told me to convince Lucy to leave Matt because she’s sleeping with him.” But that was just speculation.
I swear to god though, man, it looked like something. And Lucy said that Matt was sleeping his way through the neighborhood … She might have known something was up with Matt and Savvy.
Most of the people I talked to were skeptical of the jealousy theory, but none more than Emmett Chapman.
Emmett:????????Jealous? Of what?
Ben:???????????????Some people have speculated that Savannah and Matt were having an affair.
Emmett:????????Dude, that’s ridiculous.
Ben:???????????????Why?
Emmett:????????I never saw any evidence of that. But even if they were, why would Lucy murder Savvy for that? I don’t think Lucy even liked Matt that much.
Ben:???????????????You don’t think Lucy liked her own husband that much?
Emmett:????????Uhh … shit, maybe I shouldn’t have said it like that. I just mean that their relationship was getting a little rocky.
Ben:???????????????You don’t think that Lucy might have been angry about a close friend sleeping with Matt?
Emmett:????????I don’t know. Maybe? She would have been mad at Matt too though, right? And he’s still alive.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
LUCY
Emmett Chapman is one of those “he was right there, dumbass,” guys.
The kind of guy you don’t notice until you’re too old and fucked up to appreciate him. Until you’re murdering people in your head （and maybe in real life, who knows?） and decide that, for his own safety and mental health, he should probably stay far, far away.